WENDY Macphee’s Theatre Set-Up usually bring good weather with them when they pitch their tents in the grounds of Rothley Court Hotel and last Thursday night was no exception.

A superb summer evening to drink a glass of champagne and watch an extremely professional outdoor production of All’s Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare. The only competition the company faced was from a magnificent thrush that went through his repertoire from the top of a nearby tree for most of the evening.

All’s Well is one of Shakespeare’s later lesser-known, less frequently performed plays. I’d never seen it before and without the help of the detailed programme, both I and the rest of the audience would have been struggling to follow the plot.

We forget that for Shakespeare, writing was a business, a way to make money and though he seems to tick all the right boxes, there’s comedy, a wronged heroine, misunderstandings, there’s a feeling in this play that he’s wasting along without really exploring the human condition as he did so effectively in his great comedies and tragedies.

Be that as it may, Theatre Set-Up approached the play with a display of gorgeous costumes and great enthusiasm. The company travel widely and perform in many countries and their professionalism shines through in the way they play off each other and speak the lines so clearly. Even on a breezy evening, every word was audible. Particularly impressive was Elizabeth Arends as the heroine Helena and Terry Ashe as Parolles, the hypocritical companion of Bertram, though all the cast made an effective contribution.

A very pleasant outdoor event. Theatre Set-Up are always good value for money but for me the night belonged to that operatic thrush – and if Shakespeare were present, I guess he would have agreed with me.